I cannot TELL you how many times I’ve begged school photographers to Photoshop my staff picture each fall.

“Please? Just a little more blonde and a little less chin?” I would ask. But they always sent me away with a hearty laugh and 4-6 weeks later another photo package arrived that would end up in the back of my classroom filing cabinet.

Turns out that I just had the wrong photographers! If only David Claussen had been around. He’s the owner of a portrait studio hired to take photos of students at Sawgrass Elementary School in Broward County, Florida.

After realizing that two students never turned in their release forms, Claussen had a conundrum on his hands. He removed one of the students from the photo but one still remained. With advice from the P.T.A., Claussen digitally affixed a brown-hued cartoon smiley face on the head of the student.

Some parents found the altered photo offensive but I can’t help thinking that this is a spectacular idea! This kind of technique can be used on photos throughout my home; for instance I can think of a few family members I’d like to replace with a big ‘ol cartoon smiley face, or other inappropriate clipart.

What do you think? Are parents overreacting, or was the photo changed in bad taste? The photographer claims he suggested he use a star to block out the child’s face but the P.T.A. insisted on a cartoon face. Regardless, the P.T.A. quickly responded to complaints by rescheduling the entire photo shoot.

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